In 2019 attorney Harold Burke took up the New York family law case of Catherine Kassenoff. The mother of three was herself a former assistant US attorney and a Dartmouth and NYU graduate. Despite her competencies, however, Catherine was embroiled in the fight of her life to regain custody of her three daughters.
Kassenoff’s husband, Allan, also an attorney had been accused of physically abusing one of the couple’s daughters. Allan filed for divorce and then claimed Catherine had manipulated the girl’s story, accusing his wife of being unstable, and subsequently filed an ex parte “emergency” motion. Allan was awarded temporary custody and Catherine spent the next four years fighting for the girls’ return. She ended her fight in May when she sadly took her own life.
A 2020 study conducted by George Washington University Law professor Joan Meier revealed some startling outcomes when women report domestic or child abuse:
- Only 41% of the claims are treated seriously;
- Child sexual abuse claims are only accepted 15% of the time by the courts;
- When mothers reported a father’s abuse the mother lost custody in 26% of the cases.
Ex parte relief is designed to be an emergency measure principally because due process is denied. An evidentiary hearing should follow with allegations tested with cross-examination. Yet, many times the temporary measure becomes permanent and when a child’s stability is in play, this can be difficult to reverse.
Before the pandemic, the “denial of due process” in New York had its flaws. It worsened during the pandemic and now with calendars fully booked (and backed up), the situation is in dire straits. In a landmark June 2021 decision (Crawford v. Ally), the courts found that New York must provide an evidentiary hearing to anyone charged before an order of protection can separate them from their families or home. Yet, a “Confidential: Internal Use Only” memorandum instructed judges that unless appropriate and absolutely necessary the courts should resist a full testimonial hearing.
Westchester County, New York, ranks in the top 10 of America’s richest counties. The Kassenoffs were well off, and some have pointed to a four-year legal battle as evidently profitable for all parties (except the Kassenoffs) involved. Catherine ultimately spent nearly $1 million attempting to counter the narrative that she was unfit and dangerous to see her girls. The legal battle and a cancer diagnosis led her to an untimely and frankly horrific ending for everyone involved.
